Tuesday, April 10, 2012

A final five common Oregon sea birds

Here are a final five common Oregon sea birds. These are by no means the only birds you will see on a pelagic trip. Rather, you should expect to see most of the 15 species presented in these 3 articles on nearly every trip! It is not unusual for first-time pelagic participants to see a dozen life birds--birds they have never seen before.

Pink-footed Shearwaters are rather common, arriving in spring and remaining until winter. At times they approach within a mile of shore--especially early in the morning--but are usually found 5 to 30 miles offshore.

Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels are found spring through fall. They nest along the Oregon coast on offshore islands. They remain in their nest burrows during the day, and only come and go at night, spending several days far offshore before returning to their nestling. Thus, very few people have seen these birds from shore. On our trips they are found from 10-55 miles offshore.

Parasitic Jaegers are loners, harassing gulls and terns to steal a meal. This is the jaeger most likely to be seen from shore, especially in the fall when they may mercilessly chase small gulls, terns, or shorebirds just offshore before winging back out to sea. These can be found 50 miles offshore in migration, but are most likely to be found within 20 miles of shore.

Common Murres nest abundantly on the Oregon coast. In summer they fly back and forth from their nest colonies--bringing a single fish to their lone nestling--where thousands of birds nest shoulder to shoulder on the tops of flat offshore sea stacks. They are usually found within 8 miles of shore, but in winter can be found out much farther. Most visiting birders to the Oregon coast have seen this species from shore.

Rhinoceros Auklets are on the target list of visiting birders to the Oregon coast. These birds are found on nearly every trip from nearshore off about 20 miles or so. From certain headland locations with a powerful spotting scope you may see these birds from land. But these glimpses of distant birds bobbing on the water or flying away are rarely as good as the views on a pelagic trip.